Being buried up to my balloon knot in snow this morning, I could not help but think of the one place I obsess on and that's Las Vegas. I was surprised that on the "Gambler's Den" board there was actually little discussion on Vegas.

I'm curious if anyone here considers themeselves a Vegas "addict" (which means you have donated considerably to the Vegas Chamber of Commerce) and if you have expereinced the two biggest Cleveland Sports bars in Las Vegas (at least that I am aware of) and that is the Tap House and the Boulveard Grill and Bar.

I do know that Peeker643 and LeadPipe have warmed more than a few seats in the local poker dens in Vegas.

My particular poison is Video Poker with a smattering of BJ, Three-card Poker and yes, on occasion, Let-it-Ride. None of these games will be recognized as great player-advantage games, but I find a moderate amount of comfort in playing them.

Real gamblers shoot craps but I find it a tad intimidating and the last thing I want to be is the "cooler-tool" at a hot table, especially where talk revolves around "come and don't come" (sounds like junior prom), hard-eights, hard-sixes and my particular favorite (being Irish), the hard-four.

I have found that the locals casinos, at times, caters more to the low/middle roller. The giant conglomerates like Harrahs Entertainment have taken the personal touch out of the gaming experience. Vegas old-timers said you were treated better when the mobs ran Vegas than you do now with the dot.com corporations.

Anyhow, just thought I would stir the pot and see if anyone else had a tale or two to tell............

The corporatization of Vegas has been going on for years now and its definitely had an affect. Two or three companies own most of the major strip properties and in the past 5-7 years seem to have been hell bent on remaking Vegas into a more upscale adult playground. Expensive restaurants, fewer perks, bigger entertainers, etc.

That's why I typically avoid staying on the strip. There are simply better deals and values to be found at properties that still cater to the dogs of society like me.

I'll stay at the Station properties or the Silverton because they have beds I can fall into that cost next to nothing. I'll play cards at the strip houses that have more tourists because there's still value to making that 5 minute drive for more tools at the table.

You can still eat cheap and well if you look for such places.

I was reading on http://www.allvegaspoker.com last night about how this economy is forcing even the strip properties to re-look at how they're doing things. Numerous offers out there if you search for them that are gambler-friendly. If you do your homework you can still get out there and have a great time for reasonable money.

Nowhere better than that city IMO. I love getting up, playing some Pai-Gow and starting off with a few drinks, getting something to eat and then camping out at a poker table for 14-16 hours. Play enough VP to keep my players cards alive and offers forthcoming.

My wife doesn't gamble. So it's a different trip altogether if she heads out there with me. And I love how you can find entertainment on every corner. Whether they be highly skilled musicians or comedians or unpaid but entertaining idiots doing something completely stupid, it's great people watching.

Huge Vegas junkies here...we try to go out there about 3-4x a year and never have a bad time

I use to go out there in the 80's and then had to wait 8 years inbetween visits after I met my wife because she didn't "like" gambling...I finally talkedher into going out in '97 for our 5 yr anniversary and staying at Rio...it was funny watching her play nickel slots and 1 dollar blackjack at the Gold Coast & Slots-A-Fun because she still hated losing $10-20 at a session

I finally got her to sit down at a PaiGow table where you had to minimum bet $5 and everytime she had to put out another "nickel" it was like watching a junkie sharing his smack with someone else who doesn't want to part...she finally relaxed from all of the pushing of the game and getting loaded on bloody mary's, sea breezes & Heineken didn't hurt either...after our first trip she was hooked

It's been a wild, educational (and sometimes costly) ride going from our first trip together to where we are today when we go out there...we used to stay on the strip at the usual suspects (Mirage, NYNY, Monte Carlo, TI, etc) and then back in '01 we walked into the new "boutique" Palm casino because my wife wanted to see the Goo Goo Dolls there that night...we ended up playing at a crap table around 4:00 pm and didn't leave the table until midnight (needless to say we missed the show) and walked away with well over 7K (talk about a hot table)...the pit boss comped us a nice dinner for the next night and introduced us to a host...we've been staying there ever since and have watched ourselves mature from a red chip bettors to green chip or more (it's amazing when you finally learn watch you should play, huh?)

Our faves are:

1. Craps...nothing beats the comraderie of this game and when you get that hot shooter, watch out!!!2. Blackjack...just a great relaxing game where you can drink a shit load and meet some great people (except for the ones who split 10's...my wife's been known to call them assholes right to their face many times)3. Video Poker...when you just want to rest with a nice cigar4. 3 Card Poker...you can hear my wife across the floor when she hits a str8 flush or 3 of kind

The only other places you'll find us is in the poker room or in the book...love spending a couple of days playing nothing but Hold 'Em or Omaha, but then I realize I'm on vacation and that it's time to turn it up a notch with some adult beverages at the tables

Our favorite time of the year to go out there is for the first weekend of March Madness...you can't beat 48 games in 4 days, watching (and betting) on any (sometimes all) of them, free drinks, gorgeous waitresses, etc

Some of our other highlights from over the years:

-Playing Craps at NYNY and being involved with a shooter who threw for 75 minutes straight...this was our biggest winfall ever-Having an oriental chick give us a $2000 cheque because she needed a dollar to play the bonus at Caribbean Stud and my wife gave it to her and she hit the royal-Every time we hit a Royal on video poker...Orgasmic-Meeting and playing Spanish 21 with my boyhood idol George Brett at the Mirage-Being in the filming of "The Cooler" at The Palms during a live game of craps (we ended up on the cutting room floor)...cool experience though-Driving a stock car at 140 mph at the Richard Petty Driving Experience at the Las Vegas Speedway (she surprised me with this last winter for my 40th!!!)-Meeting cool celebrities who actually have the time of day for you (Eastwood, Shaq, Rodman, Depp, Smits, Tone Loc, Mike Bibby, Mike Brown, Bruce Willis, Maria Bello and many other rock & sport's people)-Having to stay one night at Harrah's and them losing our reservation and being overbooked so they gave us a penthouse suite for the $79....4500sf of just pure obscene living and yes, we got room service-Putting a $75 wager on Ryan Newman to win the Daytona 500 last year at 26-1 odds and him doing it-all of the comped rooms, meals, drinks, cabanas, etc are what makes us keep coming back

My first trip to Vegas was on my honeymoon was in 1978. We stayed at the "old" MGM (which burned down two years later and became Bally's). The highlight of the trip was playing Keno (I was very Vegas-stupid) with Redd Foxx at 3am, just him and I drinking cognac and smoking Cubans. Nice guy.

We began going regular again in '99. My wife was not a gambler, but a couple trips later and she became a Video-Poker-aholic. We always were the .25/.50 player who shit their pants on a $10 minimum table. Just in the last few years, I have raised my bets but my wife will only play $1-$2 on my money. She has stayed in the .25/.50 arena.

We have had some marvelous times and even a won a few times, but overall, the city collects it's tariff. I like to stay at the locals casinos but my wife usually wins out and we end up staying at Ballys or Paris and just recently Harrahs. They treat us decently but they don't send a plane for us..........................yet!

dem425 wrote:My first trip to Vegas was on my honeymoon was in 1978. We stayed at the "old" MGM (which burned down two years later and became Bally's). The highlight of the trip was playing Keno (I was very Vegas-stupid) with Redd Foxx at 3am, just him and I drinking cognac and smoking Cubans. Nice guy.

Does anyone else here have a Harrah's Total Rewards card? If not, it's a pretty good deal. I haven't gambled much @ any of Harrah's establishments, but I'm still eligible to get a free room pretty much anytime I want by typing my card # in online. According to my win/loss statement from '08, I ended up losing $200. Hotels you can book through Harrah's include Paris, Rio, Bally's, Harrah's, Imperial Palace, Flamingo, Caesar's....maybe one or two I'm missing. Anyhow, I definitely recommend getting the player's card if anyone goes out there. I haven't gambled with them in almost a year and still am able to book a free room over Spring Break in March.

CarolinaTribe wrote:Does anyone else here have a Harrah's Total Rewards card? If not, it's a pretty good deal. I haven't gambled much @ any of Harrah's establishments, but I'm still eligible to get a free room pretty much anytime I want by typing my card # in online. According to my win/loss statement from '08, I ended up losing $200. Hotels you can book through Harrah's include Paris, Rio, Bally's, Harrah's, Imperial Palace, Flamingo, Caesar's....maybe one or two I'm missing. Anyhow, I definitely recommend getting the player's card if anyone goes out there. I haven't gambled with them in almost a year and still am able to book a free room over Spring Break in March.

Great point, no matter where you stay you should always sign up for their player's card and use it at every table and machine game...it's amazing what you'll get over time

With tourism being down in Vegas right now we've gotten all kinds of offers from many hotels that we haven't stayed at for close to 10 years (Rio, NYNY, Monte Carlo, TI, to name a few) and plenty from the hjotels that we frequent (Palms, Mirage, Orleans)...My wife just said that we could go out there for a month a never pay for a room easily (just wish we had the bankroll!!!)

Personally I'm not a big fan of Harrah's properties (I think they ruined Caesars & Rio), but I do know some people who swear by their services

Yea, Rio wasn't great, but a free room is a free room. My cousin actually earned offers for a free charter flight and three night weekend stay out in Vegas or Atlantic City. It's crazy some of the stuff you can earn and as Waborat said, you really don't have to even gamble that much.

because when its you against the casino, the casino has more money so they are the likely winners in the end.

if you come to the table with 1k, you have limits on how much you can lose. if you lose it all, you're done. if the casino loses 1,000, they keep playing until it averages back out.

so you get up from the table when you hit a cold streak and run out of money. they dont have to worry about that. thats why even though the house edge is only a few % points, most people walk out with a lot less money than they started.

because when its you against the casino, the casino has more money so they are the likely winners in the end.

if you come to the table with 1k, you have limits on how much you can lose. if you lose it all, you're done. if the casino loses 1,000, they keep playing until it averages back out.

so you get up from the table when you hit a cold streak and run out of money. they dont have to worry about that. thats why even though the house edge is only a few % points, most people walk out with a lot less money than they started.

Exactly, but you forgot to add that's why the casinos have maximum bets allowed to keep the ultra-rich whales from killing them

Players Club cards are actually instruments of the devil. The casino can not only track your play, but they can access ALL your bank accounts, your social security, your mutual funds and every bit of personal information. PLUS, they know what games you are playing and then that allows them to turn on the WIN/DON"T WIN button.

Actually, they are probably the ONLY reason why I have been getting comped rooms the past several years..........

Just booked a 4 night stay at the Paris for May 9-13 with the girlfriend. It'll be my 4th time out there, her first. It ended up not being as cheap as I wanted (prices change a good amount in the last 2 days), but she wanted to stay at the pretty one. Any thoughts on the Paris as an actual hotel? I've only stayed at MGM, the old Aladdin, and Caesars, but I've been through Paris plenty. Hoping to get a view of the Bellagio fountains, with any luck.

It's been 3 years since I've been there last. Not sure if anything has changed since 2006 (outside of Aladdin's becoming Planet Hollywood), so any updates on that would be cool...like anything new to see or good shows. I'd like to get to the Beatles' Cirque du Soleil show. Probably won't gamble too much, but definitely gotta get on the craps table. My fondest memory of Vegas (outside of dinner/watching fireworks from the top of the Stratoshphere) is shooting some dice with Mike Ditka at Caesars. He rolls up with 2 or 3 pretty girls, big cigar. My buddy and I had just won some money with a hot shooter, and we quit right after she crapped out. We waited right there for our beers, and Ditka had come up to the table we were just at. We played with him for a minute, lost him a solid grand in about 5 minutes, and he bounced. But, it was fun...for us at least.

Doc wrote:Just booked a 4 night stay at the Paris for May 9-13 with the girlfriend. It'll be my 4th time out there, her first. It ended up not being as cheap as I wanted (prices change a good amount in the last 2 days), but she wanted to stay at the pretty one. Any thoughts on the Paris as an actual hotel? I've only stayed at MGM, the old Aladdin, and Caesars, but I've been through Paris plenty. Hoping to get a view of the Bellagio fountains, with any luck.

It's been 3 years since I've been there last. Not sure if anything has changed since 2006 (outside of Aladdin's becoming Planet Hollywood), so any updates on that would be cool...like anything new to see or good shows. I'd like to get to the Beatles' Cirque du Soleil show. Probably won't gamble too much, but definitely gotta get on the craps table. My fondest memory of Vegas (outside of dinner/watching fireworks from the top of the Stratoshphere) is shooting some dice with Mike Ditka at Caesars. He rolls up with 2 or 3 pretty girls, big cigar. My buddy and I had just won some money with a hot shooter, and we quit right after she crapped out. We waited right there for our beers, and Ditka had come up to the table we were just at. We played with him for a minute, lost him a solid grand in about 5 minutes, and he bounced. But, it was fun...for us at least.

Paris is okay...rooms are kinda noisy, but not as bad as NYNY...for where you've stayed before, it's nicer than MGM (only because of the size) and "Old" Alladin, but nowhere near what Caesar's is ('natch)...ask when you check in for a strip view, sometime's hotels want an additional $20 or something? If you're trying to impress your GF, then it's worth it

Can't really think of anything major that's new since '06 in town? Haven't been to the new Encore yet...heard the Beatles show is pretty good

Being a newly single guy, I'm definitely planning a trip to Vegas this fall. Hangover Style. There are a lot of good deals out there right now. Ive seen 5day/4 night hotel + flights for $400pp. I do need some help from you regulars though. I am thinking about going for 3 days with a group of buddies and i need to know some good places to stay (affordable but nice), how much money to take for gambling,food, drinks, stripclubs, and shows. If were going, i want to do this thing right. If im only going to have money to half-ass it, ill wait until next year.

Much like buying a car, a trip to Las Vegas requires you to set your own personal limits. Establishing a gambling budget and adhering to it is essential. NOT practicing what I preach here has caused me to spend day 2 of a 4-day trip in my room watching the "how to gamble" primers on free TV because I blew everything the first night I was there. Decide on how much you want to spend gambling for the entire trip, then divide it by the number of days you are going to be there. If your gambling budget is $1200 and you are going to be in Vegas 4 days, then mark four envelopes days #1,2,3,4. Put $300 in each envelope and that's your gambling budget for the day. TRY (this is the hardest part) and not "borrow" from the next day (or 2, or 3) envelope.

Air/Hotel packages are making a comeback in these tough economic times. REMEMBER, if you book an air/hotel package, you pay up front. You cannot get your rooms comped based on your play. That being said, ALWAYS get PLAYERS CLUB cards in every casino you gamble in. Players Cards are the way of casinos tracking your play AND getting your address to send you FUTURE OFFERS (contrary to old wives tales, casinos cannot track your bank accounts or personal/credit information through the PLAYERS CARDS). I know of a woman who plays penny slot machines. SHe played quite a bit at Ceasar's Palace and has received offers from them for FREE ROOMS.

Staying Downtown/Freemont St. area may be the cheapest (Binions, Four Queens, Plaza, Las Vegas Club, Fitzgeralds, Lady Luck and my favorite, Main St.Station) but the area surrounding Freemont St. is the seediest.

The Strip starts at the Stratosphere on the northern end of Las Vegas Blvd., down to Mandalay Bay on the south end. My wife is a hotel snob so I generally stay ay Bally's, Paris or Harrahs. It's also where I get the most "free" offers.

Remember, in most casinos, if you are gambling (cards or slots) drinks are free, not counting a tip for the waitress. A minimum of a buck (or two) is customary. Drinks can also include middle and top shelf booze. Keep in mind, you need to be gambling heavy to get Johnny Walker Blue or Napoleon brandy. But, I have paid upwards of $300-$400 for a couple of Bailey's/Coffee for breakfast (LOL). The price for drinks in most bars to NON-gamblers is about the same as going Downtown Cleveland to the warehouse district. Look for specials (a place called Casino Royale which is between Harrahs and the Venetian ALWAYS have $1 beer special to non-gamblers.) Another specials spot is O'Sheas, a small casino/bar between the Flamingo and Imperial Palace.

Some clubs at the fancier hotels require covers and the booze is outrageously priced. The strip clubs are the same althought the quality out there (Olympic Gardens, Cheetahs, Sapphire and Treasures) is outstanding.

Shows...................They have shows in Vegas????????

Feel free to ask any other questions I may be able to answer................

Much like buying a car, a trip to Las Vegas requires you to set your own personal limits. Establishing a gambling budget and adhering to it is essential. NOT practicing what I preach here has caused me to spend day 2 of a 4-day trip in my room watching the "how to gamble" primers on free TV because I blew everything the first night I was there. Decide on how much you want to spend gambling for the entire trip, then divide it by the number of days you are going to be there. If your gambling budget is $1200 and you are going to be in Vegas 4 days, then mark four envelopes days #1,2,3,4. Put $300 in each envelope and that's your gambling budget for the day. TRY (this is the hardest part) and not "borrow" from the next day (or 2, or 3) envelope.

Air/Hotel packages are making a comeback in these tough economic times. REMEMBER, if you book an air/hotel package, you pay up front. You cannot get your rooms comped based on your play. That being said, ALWAYS get PLAYERS CLUB cards in every casino you gamble in. Players Cards are the way of casinos tracking your play AND getting your address to send you FUTURE OFFERS (contrary to old wives tales, casinos cannot track your bank accounts or personal/credit information through the PLAYERS CARDS). I know of a woman who plays penny slot machines. SHe played quite a bit at Ceasar's Palace and has received offers from them for FREE ROOMS.

Staying Downtown/Freemont St. area may be the cheapest (Binions, Four Queens, Plaza, Las Vegas Club, Fitzgeralds, Lady Luck and my favorite, Main St.Station) but the area surrounding Freemont St. is the seediest.

The Strip starts at the Stratosphere on the northern end of Las Vegas Blvd., down to Mandalay Bay on the south end. My wife is a hotel snob so I generally stay ay Bally's, Paris or Harrahs. It's also where I get the most "free" offers.

Remember, in most casinos, if you are gambling (cards or slots) drinks are free, not counting a tip for the waitress. A minimum of a buck (or two) is customary. Drinks can also include middle and top shelf booze. Keep in mind, you need to be gambling heavy to get Johnny Walker Blue or Napoleon brandy. But, I have paid upwards of $300-$400 for a couple of Bailey's/Coffee for breakfast (LOL). The price for drinks in most bars to NON-gamblers is about the same as going Downtown Cleveland to the warehouse district. Look for specials (a place called Casino Royale which is between Harrahs and the Venetian ALWAYS have $1 beer special to non-gamblers.) Another specials spot is O'Sheas, a small casino/bar between the Flamingo and Imperial Palace.

Some clubs at the fancier hotels require covers and the booze is outrageously priced. The strip clubs are the same althought the quality out there (Olympic Gardens, Cheetahs, Sapphire and Treasures) is outstanding.

Shows...................They have shows in Vegas????????

Feel free to ask any other questions I may be able to answer................

Dan

Dan the Man, thanks a lot bro! That pretty much answers all the questions i had.